The Soldier and the Inventoress
by NataliaRoma97
Summary: The League gets an extra recruit in the form of a famous inventor's niece and ward. How will she affect the events of the mission? And more importantly what kind of effect will she have on the American Special Agent? Sawyer/OC, Jekyll/Skinner/OC friendship
1. Chapter 1

Adeline Fogg sat in her workshop tinkering away at the new device she'd been working on. If her calculations were correct it would revolutionize the way modern women washed clothes. Of course the mechanics of the device never wanted to work properly and required the smallest amount of finagling to do their jobs. Still Ms. Fogg loved her work and with her beloved uncle aging rapidly she felt it was her duty to carry on the family reputation and business.

Just as she began to fiddle with one of the steel screws someone cleared their throat, causing the young women to look up. Her brown eyes found her uncle's longtime friend and butler Lau Xing standing in the doorway. A smile spread across the young girl's lips. "Good afternoon, Lau Xing. Is Uncle alright?"

The white haired Chinese man nodded, "He is well. You have a visitor."

Adeline's dark eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion, "I am a bit busy at the moment if you please inform whoever it is that I will see them at a later time-"

"I'm afraid he said it is urgent," Lau replied.

The young women sighed, "Very well, send them in."

Lau nodded and disappeared down the hall before returning with a well-dressed young man, probably four or five years her senior, with his top hat tucked under his arm. "Miss Fogg, this is Mr. Sanderson Reed."

Adeline rose slowly from her chair and shook the man's hand, "A pleasure to meet you Mr. Reed. Would you care for some tea or perhaps something a bit stronger?"

The man shook his head as he sat down in front of her desk, "No ma'am that won't be necessary. I will not rob you of your precious time, this will not take long."

She nodded and sat down once more, "That will be all Lau, please make sure my uncle has his afternoon tea." Lau gave her a small smile before leaving her. "So Mr. Reed, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

"I represent a small part of her majesty's special forces. We are putting together a group made of special individuals with special talents to save the world from impending war," Reed explained.

Adeline's eyes widened a bit, "That's quite the operation. I still do not see what it has to do with me?"

"With your uncle out of commission, we cannot hope for him to embark on such a quest. And since you are his student, we would like to offer you the chance to help the Empire," Reed replied leaning forward in his chair a bit. Adeline still wasn't sure what to say.

"What would this sort of quest entail?"

"There will be six others in the League that will help you stop forces that threaten to throw the world into chaos. If you are interested the first meeting will be later this week," Reed said as he stood up. "Thank you for your time. I shall leave the address with your butler. Good day, Ms. Fogg."

"Good day, Mr. Reed." The second the man was gone, Adeline leaned back in her chair her mind plagued without thoughts. After a few minutes she decided to seek out advice from her uncle.

She found him where he always was, his lab. Despite his progressive age and illness he never refused to stop inventing nor did he allow Adeline to slack in her studies. At that precise moment he was tampering with the engine he'd used for a horseless carriage years ago that he had continued to make improvements on.

"Still not working properly?" she asked smirking slightly.

Her uncle looked up and smiled as he wiped his dirty hands on a handkerchief. "No, I believe that the coals are not producing enough energy for the coils to spin. If there was only some other energy source…"

"Uncle Phileas, may I ask your advice on something?"

"I don't see why not. What is it?" her uncle shrugged going back to his tinkering.

"Well, a man came by today and offered me the chance to join this special group to help stop war from spreading through Europe," she tried to say casually. Uncle Phileas paused and looked up at her. "A part of me wants to go, to see new places and do my duty to Britain but how could I possibly help prevent a war that will consume the continent?"

Uncle Phileas walked toward her and put his hands on her shoulders, "Adeline, I have raised since you were a small girl after your parents died. I have tried to pass on all my knowledge to you and give you all the love a family should have. Your Aunt, God rest her soul, Lau Xing, and I have been telling you stories of our adventures for far too long. It's time to make your own." Adeline beamed and hugged her uncle tightly.

"I'll miss you."

Uncle Phileas pushed a strand of her dark hair back behind her ear. "So will I. But you have the chance to make a difference for the new century to come, take it."

And so Lau Xing helped Adeline pack her bags and prepare for whatever was to come and later that week she arrived at the address Mr. Reed had left. In the pouring rain she saw Mr. Reed speaking to an older man dress in safari-like clothes as the latter got out of his carriage.

"You made good time getting here," Reed told the man.

"Not as good as Phileas Fogg. Around the world in 80 days? Huh," the man replied with a small wry smile.

"My uncle would be flattered. Twenty-six years and people still speak of his accomplishment," Adeline said announcing her presence to the two men.

"Ah, Miss Fogg, glad you could make it. Miss Fogg this is Mr. Allan Quartermain. Mr. Quartermain this is Adeline Fogg," Mr. Reed introduced them.

Quartermain shook Adeline's hand, "A pleasure. Will you be joining us in this endeavor?"

Adeline smiled mischievously, "You could say it runs in the family."

"Shall we?" Reed said as he led them inside the massive stone building. Adeline removed her hat as Quartermain removed his coat. Reed continued to lead them down long hallways and staircases under the building.

"Where are we going? Australia?" Quartermain asked with a small chuckle.

The young women chuckled as well, "I hear it's lovely this time of year."

Finally they reached a pair of grand wooden doors, "And here we are sir and lady." Reed opened the doors revealing a grand library with a long wooden table in the center of the narrow but long room. Adeline and Quartermain handed Reed their things as they continued into the darkened room. "I don't like theatrics," Quartermain called to whoever was in the room with them.

"After Africa's velds, London isn't helping your mood, I see," a masculine voice said as a shadow moved toward them in the low light.

"Identify yourself," Quartermain ordered as a few lights brightened.

"I'm known by many names, Mr. Quartermain," was the reply. "My underlings call me sir. My superiors call me 'M'."

"M?" Adeline questioned.

The shadow nodded as more lights brightened, "Just M. I must say, the delight is mine…meeting such notable recruits to this newest generation of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." More lights brightened filling the entire room and revealing a man younger than Quartermain but older than Adeline in an expensive looking suit and sporting a well groomed mustache.

"League of what?" Quartermain questioned glancing at Adeline, who only shrugged in confusion.

"There have been other times when a danger upon the world required the services of singular individuals," M explained.

"How very curious," Adeline muttered.

"This museum is full of the curious," M said as a man with a blue turban and beard entered the room. "Allan Quartermain. Adeline Fogg. Captain Nemo."

The captain nodded, "I know of Mr. Quartermain and of Miss Fogg's lineage."

"And I know of you, Captain," Quartermain replied.

"Rumor has it that you're a pirate," Adeline told the man with curious eyes.

The man glanced at her sternly, "I'd prefer a less provocative title." Adeline nodded in understanding. She'd heard much of Captain Nemo and his adventures.

"Oh I'm sure you would," Quartermain commented with a snarky smirk.

"Gentlemen, please," M interceded as Nemo wound his way around the long table. "Nations are striking at nations. Every attack marked by the use of highly advanced weaponry. They've discovered these attacks are all the work of one man who calls himself the Fantom." Quartermain sat down in one of the chairs and took out a pair of spectacles to browse the files on the table. Adeline looked over his shoulder at the photos of a masked man.

"Very operatic," Quartermain remarked quietly.

Adeline glanced up at M, "What's in it for him?"

"Profit," M answered. "Those machines are his creations. The work of scientists he holds imprisoned. His attacks have every nation clamoring for the very weapons that assailed them."

"Then it's a race for arms," Quartermain stated studying a photo of one of the machines M had mentioned.

"And millions will perish," Nemo added grimly.

"There is one last chance to avert war," M announced taking a seat in one of the chairs. "The leaders of Europe are to meet secretly in Venice."

Quartermain looked up from the file, "And you believe this Fantom will attack the conference?"

M nodded, "If he can find it. We need a team to get to Venice and stop him. This team will consist of seven members. You will have four days."

"Four days to get to Venice?" Quartermain questioned in disbelief. "It's impossible."

"Let me worry about that," Nemo assured them. Adeline studied the captain curiously. What sort of technology did he have at his disposal that would get them to Venice that quickly?

Quartermain smiled a bit crookedly, "Well, now, extraordinary gentlemen indeed."

"One of them is late," M announced. "Harker. The chemist." That had Adeline's interest peeked.

"A chemist? Interesting," she said glancing at the photo of Harker in Quartermain's hand.

"Do we get to blow something up then?" a new voice asked excitedly. Everyone glanced around the room in hopes of finding the owner of the voice, but there was none to be found. Adeline, however, knew that voice.

Quartermain looked confused, "My eyesight must be worse than I thought."

"No, your eyesight's fine," the voice assured the older man as a stack of files fell in front of Quartermain. The elderly man stood up and pointed at M.

"No games, M."

M grinned slightly and stood up, "Sometime ago, a talented albeit misguided man of science discovered the means to become invisible."

"Yes, I recall the tale but didn't he die?" Quartermain continued.

"Well, he did, but his process didn't," the voice explained. "You see, I stole it, and here I stand for all to see."

Adeline chuckled quietly at Quartermain's look of bewilderment. "Is this some parlor game?"

"Believe it," the voice ordered as Quartermain was shoved forward. The man pushed the invisible voice back in retribution. "Easy now, Allan. I'm feelings a bit of a draft in my nether regions." Adeline scoffed in disgust. "And I must say it's quite refreshing" A black leather coat that had been on one of the chairs was suddenly floating in midair as the invisible man put it on. "Allow me to introduce myself. Rodney Skinner, gentleman thief." Skinner took out some sort of container and began to put some sort of white paste on his face so the others could see him. "Now, I thought invisibility would be a boon to my work. Well, you can imagine, it was my undoing. Once you're invisible, it's bloody hard to turn back."

Adeline glanced over at M, "I cannot believe you invited him."

"We finally caught him," M announced with a small shrug.

Skinner looked past Quartermain at the young women, "Ah, Addie, nice to see you again."

"Skinner, nice to not see you again," she quipped casting the invisible man a glare.

Quartermain glanced between them, "You two know each other?"

Adeline nodded, "He came to see my uncle and I to find an antidote to his problem. Couldn't though plus he was a bloody nuisance."

"Aww, Addie, you know you missed me," Skinner teased causing the girl to roll her eyes. "Well, after I got nowhere with Addie and her uncle, M found me and they'll provide an antidote. Well, that's if I'm a good boy."

Quartermain eyed him critically, "And are you a good boy?"

Skinner smirked, "I guess you'll find out, won't you?"

Suddenly the door burst open and in walked a woman, a fair few years Adeline's senior, with auburn hair pinned under a black hat with a long black coat. Her green eyes scanned the room, "Am I late?"

"A woman's prerogative, Mrs. Harker," M assured her.

"Please tell me this is Harker's wife, with a sick note," Quartermain grumbled.

Mrs. Harker sauntered into the room and gave Quartermain an exasperated and knowing look, "Sick would be a mild understatement. My husband's been dead for years."

"Gentlemen, and lady, Mrs. Wilhemina Harker," M introduced. Mrs. Harker nodded to everyone present. "Mina's prior acquaintance with a reluctant league member may prove useful."

Quartermain glance between Adeline and Mina doubtfully, "I'm waiting to be impressed." Adeline restrained herself from reprimanding the man for his callous words.

"The fate of the world is at stake. There are still two more members to recruit," M continued ignoring Quartermain. "The clock hands turn, gentlemen."

"Kicking us out already? A moment ago it was sherry and giggles," Skinner noted before turning up his collar and walking out.


	2. Chapter 2

Adeline and Quartermain retrieved their things from Mr. Reed who assured them their bags would be taken to their transportation which Nemo was providing. Outside it was still raining and a large something with four wheels was waiting for them. "What in God's name is that?" Quartermain demanded.

"I call it an automobile," Nemo answered.

"Yeah, but what is it?" Skinner asked.

Adeline glanced at Nemo through the rain, "Is it a combustible engine? But you've outfitted the exterior quite stylishly?"

Nemo smiled slightly at the delight in her brown eyes and the confusion in the eyes of the others, "The future, gentlemen. This is my first mate."

The tall, thin man with a cap nodded to them with a slight bow, "Call me Ishmael. Please."

Ishmael opened the door for them and the four crawled into the seats. Seeing as there was only room for three on one side, Adeline was forced to sit across from them as the automobile began to move. She was used to riding backwards in her uncle's carriages, with and without horses.

"So, how did M get you?" Skinner asked Quartermain after a few minutes of awkward silence.

Quartermain barely glanced at Skinner before responding stiffly, "None of your business."

"You're a little testy, Mr. Q," Mrs. Harker informed him.

That comment forced Quartermain to look away from the window and turn toward the woman, "Mrs. Harker, I doubt if you measure danger the way I do."

Mrs. Harker wasn't fazed. She gave him a tight, taunting smile, "And I imagine you with quite the library, Mr. Quartermain; all those books you must've read merely by reading their covers." Adeline stifled a giggle at Mina's quip.

"I've had women along on past exploits and found them to be, at best, a distraction," Quartermain informed her with a wry smile.

Mina's eyes widened ever so slightly, "Do I distract you?"

"My dear girl, I have buried two wives and many lovers and I am in no mood for more of either," Quartermain denied glancing at Adeline as well.

"You can send them my way, if you like-" Skinner spoke up.

Adeline kicked the invisible man in the shin, effectively cutting him off, "Skinner, shut up."

Mina tore her gaze from Quartermain to Adeline, "So, Miss Fogg, correct? I heard you uncle has fallen ill?"

The younger woman nodded, "Yes, he has. However, he is stubborn and eccentric and cannot be deterred from his passion."

"Does he know you are here? Risking your life?" Mina asked.

Adeline nodded with a small smile, "Who do you think convinced me to take a chance on an adventure?"

"Still you are very young. Why join the League?"

"In all honesty, Mrs. Harker, I'm not entirely sure why I was invited in the first place but I can assure you, I can handle my own matters," Adeline replied truthfully. Mina nodded, apparently satisfied with Adeline's answers and grew quiet.

Soon enough they came to a small neighborhood on the river's eastside near the docks. Everyone exited the car and gazed up at the house of their next recruit. "Shall I stay here, Captain?" Ishmael asked Nemo.

"No, bring my lady to me," Nemo ordered. The five ambled to the door of their recruit's house.

"This is a charming spot," Skinner observed sardonically. "Does Jack the Ripper live here?"

The invisible man was ignored as Quartermain tapped the door knocker. A pair of brown eyes looked through the peephole before the door swung open revealing a well-dressed man with long dark hair. "Good evening."

"Mr. Dorian Gray?" Quartermain requested.

"I am indeed," the man replied suavely.

"We came by way of M."

The man smiled crookedly, "Ahh, M for mystery. Well I've told him and I'm telling you: I'm not interested."

"Dorian," Mina greeted the man. He noticed her and a look of complete surprise washed over his face.

"Mina?" He then opened the door fully to allow all of them inside.

The interior of the house was dark and lacked in color. "Charming décor," Skinner perceived as they followed Gray up the stairs.

"You're missing a picture, Mr. Gray," Quartermain notified the man pointing out a bare spot on his wall.

Gray didn't even glanced at the wall, "You never miss a thing, do you, Mr. Quartermain?"

"Oh, sometimes," Quartermain insisted

Gray led them into quite the library that was lavishly furnished but still felt cold, like the rest of his house. Skinner, of course, immediately noticed the alcohol and removed his hat. "Scotch, anyone?"

"Please, help yourself," Gray waved him off sounding slightly annoyed by Skinner's lack of manners.

"Don't let it ruin your make up," Mina told the invisible man causing Adeline to chuckle as she perused the book titles lining the shelves.

"I'm impressed, Mr. Gray. You take Skinner's uniqueness in your stride," Nemo commented appreciatively but with a hint of suspicion.

Gray fluffed his gray suit jacket and sat down in his armchair, "Yes, well, I've seen too much in my life to shock easily. Although I must say I was surprised to see you again."

"When our last parting was such sweet sorrow?" Mina questioned causing a few of the league members to raise their eyebrows curiously.

"Oh, so you're nothing more than an enticement. Nevertheless your presence intrigues me." Gray then turned his attention to Adeline who was pouring over a fascinating astronomy book. "How is your uncle faring, Miss Fogg? I haven't seen him out and about in many months."

Adeline returned the book to its designated spot on the shelf, "He despises being kept inside all day but refuses to give up his love of inventing despite his deteriorating condition."

Gray merely nodded in a sort of understanding before glancing over at Quartermain, "They say you're indestructible, Quartermain."

"Well a witch doctor did bless me once," Quartermain replied evading giving an actual answer easily. "I had saved his village. He said Africa would never allow me to die."

"But you're not in Africa now," Gray pointed out.

Quartermain still held his stern expression, "No."

"I confess a curiosity as to what the files say about Mr. Gray," Nemo spoke up glancing around the room quizzically. "We, all of us, have trades useful in this endeavor. A hunter, a scientist, an inventor- even Skinner has stealth."

Said invisible man raised his glass of Scotch, "Cheers."

Nemo ignored Skinner's comment and focused back on Gray, "What have you?"

"I have experience," Gray answered peculiarly without explanation.

"Gray and I have met before," Quartermain announced. "Many years ago at Eton College."

"A lecture, no doubt," Mina added. "You the nation's hero, Dorian the eager listening boy."

Quartermain shook his head, a small smirk appearing on his face, "Quite the reverse. It was Gray visiting Eton…and I was the boy." That certainly caused everyone to look over at Gray curiously and mystified at the obvious age difference.

Suddenly, Quartermain stiffened and drew a pistol from inside his coat. "What is it?" Adeline asked her fingers creeping toward the hidden buttons inside her coat. About a dozen or so masked men appeared in the rafters pointing large, bulky guns trained at the six of them.

"Gray?" Quartermain questioned turning to the owner of the house who had risen from his chair.

"They're not mine," Gray replied to the underlying question.

"Then whose are they?" Adeline demanded studying the men above them, mentally calculating the possibilities of winning a fight. It didn't look good.

"They're mine," a raspy voice answered as a masked man in a fur coat appeared at the top of the stairs to the rafters.

Quartermain turned to the newcomer, "First meetings usually warrant introductions."

"Of course," the man agreed. "I am the Fantom. You are the League of the so-called Extraordinary Gentlemen. Introductions made." Their designated enemy stepped down a bit. "Oh, and I am scarred, Mr. Quartermain, not blind. Drop the gun." The sound of metal hitting wood filled the room as Quartermain did so. "Your mission is to stop me. That, of course, I cannot permit. So I give to you all special one-time invitation. Join me."

"You think we will help start a war that will consume the planet?" Nemo questioned the Fantom dubiously.

"While you profit from your arms race?" Adeline added disgusted that he actually believed they'd help him.

The Fantom continued down the steps, "I cannot deny that fortunes are made in war." Adeline noticed a new masked man appear up in the rafters with the others. He looked different from the others, particularly the protruding blonde hair, and had a different gun as well. "Imagine the riches a world war will yield."

"He's not wrong," Skinner pointed out.

"Speak for yourself," Gray told the invisible man.

The Fantom approached Quartermain slowly. Adeline tensed, unsure what their enemy was going to do. The masked villain simply kicked Quartermain's gun away back behind one of the mountainous shelves. Adeline noticed Quartermain glance up at the straggler minion that looked different from the rest and instantly the new man with blonde hair started shooting at the other men in the rafters. Adeline smirked and pressed the buttons inside her sleeves causing two pistols to shoot into her hands. The fight was on.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N another chapter...hope you all enjoy!**_

Immediately she too started firing at the masked minions but she wasn't the best shot so it didn't do too much good. All of a sudden, the ladder that went around the entire library swung and knocked back several the Fantom's men. Adeline narrowly dodged a few bullets by hiding behind one of the massive shelves. Every few seconds she stepped around the shelf and fire at the men above her. However, when she turned back one of the men appeared and grabbed at her. She managed to avoid his grab and delivered a crescent kick to his jaw, just as Lau Xing had taught her.

Adeline glanced up to see the blonde man throw one of the men over the railing but he didn't notice another one heading toward him as he fought yet another minion. Without hesitation she reached into her boot and grasped the small knife inside and threw it up at the man with as much precision and power she could muster. The knife imbedded itself in the man's back behind his heart and he fell to his knees behind the blonde man. Due to the sudden commotion the blonde turned around and punched the man on his knees. He then looked down and locked eyes with Adeline. She grinned and saluted him before quickly reloading her guns but thought better of it and jumped into the fray in the center of the room.

Using the butt of one of her guns she knocked out one of the men with his gun trained on Nemo before engaging in hand-to-hand with another masked minion. This one also fell quickly when she managed break his arm before kneeing him in his face. As she straightened she felt someone's arms grab around her and used her head to smash their nose. She then jutted out her body and kicked the side of the man's head.

Yet another masked man ran toward her with either a short sword or a large knife, Adeline wasn't sure, but she ducked and twisted the man's arm, forcing him to drop the weapon before bending the man backwards onto her knee and punching his face.

"Hang on," she heard a familiar voice say and looked up to see a floating book smack around one of the Fantom's men. Skinner. Adeline stifled a giggle as she weaved and dodged more blows from the remaining men. She lost count how many men she saw go down and how many got up again only to be knocked down once more. Nemo and Gray were both using weapons whilst she used anything and everything within reach. One of the larger men managed to gain the upper hand and had her pinned on the ground but was suddenly hit with a candle holder. "Alright, Addie?" Skinner asked as Adeline got to her feet.

"Thanks, but we're still not square," she told him as she moved to fight more men.

Adeline rolled to avoid a man's grab but before she got the chance to fight him he was knocked down. "Come on, Addie, you ever gonna forgive me?" Skinner inquired.

The young woman rolled her eyes, "I'll think about it."

Without warning more shots were fired and Adeline looked over to see one of the men unloading his pistol at Gray. "Dorian!" Mina screamed from somewhere.

Gray, however, simply shoved the man's gun out of the way and stabbed the man with his sword. Adeline's eyes widened but she did not get the chance to marvel before she received a nice shiner in the face. In retaliation she kicked the man's legs out from under him and punched his lights out.

The fight died down and everyone relaxed. Skinner re-dressed himself, re-applied his make-up, and retrieved his hat. "I thought I was special. You're invulnerable to harm," he gestured to Gray.

"I don't like to boast," Gray said returned downstairs with a fresh change of gray clothes. "What happened to Mina?"

"Oh, she's probably hip-deep in some sort of trouble," Quartermain replied.

Mina then appeared and picked her hat up off the floor, "Don't be such an alarmist, Mr. Q. And my hips are none of your business."

Suddenly, one of the men they'd apparently missed grabbed Mina and held a knife to her throat. Instantaneously everyone drew their weapons, including Adeline with the guns hidden in her sleeves, even the blonde man from earlier returned and pointed his gun at the man holding Mina. "Shoot! Go on!" the man teased. Seeing they'd only hurt Mina, they all dropped their weapons. "I guess as much. That they'd do anything to protect you. Tried to get the little one earlier but you're better." Adeline noticed the man had a red imprint of her of her boot on the side of his face. Must've not kicked him hard enough.

"See that's your biggest mistake," Mina whispered almost inaudibly as her eyes began to turn red. "Thinking that I need them to protect me." Mina twisted out his arms, grabbed his face, and bit into his throat. The man screamed as he went down. Mina growled loudly and continued to bite the man. Eventually Mina straightened and began to fix her hair.

"Extraordinary," Nemo stated just as shocked as the rest of them.

"Here, Mina," Adeline said tossing the woman a handkerchief as Mina wiped the blood off her face.

"Boy," the blonde man said speaking for the first time. "They told me European women had funny ways. You missed a spot," he told Mina. Seeing him up close, Adeline noticed that he was quite young, probably only three years her senior, and he was very handsome.

Mina looked over at the new arrival, "And you are?"

"Special Agent Sawyer of the American Secret Service," the blonde man proclaimed.

Quartermain stepped toward the young man, "Then America is aware of the situation."

"Well, war starts in Europe, how long is it gonna take until it crosses the Atlantic? I followed you. I knocked out a straggler and I took his place," Sawyer explained.

"I thought you looked a bit out of place," Adeline responded with a small smirk. Sawyer gave her a small grin.

"Very noble," Gray said eyeing Sawyer. "But this is a private party and you're not invited."

"Actually, Dorian has declined. So we are one shy of a full deck," Mina corrected.

"On the contrary, the battle was just the spur I needed. That and the thrill of a friendship renewed," Gray argued causing Adeline to roll her eyes. "So you're not needed."

Quartermain, ever the leader, stepped up to Sawyer and inspected his pistol. "Winchester," the old man observed.

Sawyer nodded, "That's right, it's modified. American-style."

"American-style shooting too."

The blonde chuckled, "Well, whatever it takes." Quartermain handed the pistol back to Sawyer. "If you like it, I brought two."

There was a beat of silence. "You're in," Quartermain declared.

"And I believe our transportation will be waiting for us on the docks," Nemo declared. Everyone followed Gray out the back door to the docks.

Adeline felt a tap on her shoulder, it was Sawyer. The young man held out the knife she'd used to earlier. "I believe this is yours."

She accepted it with a small smile, "Thanks."

"Actually, I owe you my thanks for saving my life," Sawyer corrected.

Adeline shrugged, "Like I said earlier, you looked out of place."

The American smiled at the Brit, "I didn't catch your name."

"Adeline. Adeline Fogg." The two shook hands and Adeline could've sworn she felt an odd heat flow through her.

"Keep up, you two," someone yelled jerking the two back to reality and they took off to catch up with the others.

"So, what's the next port of call?" Gray inquired as they reached walked down the wooden steps toward the dock.

"Paris. Just one last member to recruit," Nemo answered.

"Capture is more the word," Quartermain amended. "And it will be quite the hunt."

They reached the bottom of the stairs. "You make him sound like some kind of animal," Mina remarked.

Quartermain glanced at her, "Oh, and speaking thus, Mrs. Harker, your conduct a moment ago?"

"Indeed," Skinner agreed stepping closer to Mina. "We were all aquiver with curiosity."

Mina turned away from him and the others to avoid their eyes. "Well, my husband was Jonathon Harker. Together, with a professor named Van Helsing, we fought a dangerous evil. It had a name: Dracula. He was Transylvanian."

"Mmm, European? One of those radicals the newspapers love to report on?" Skinner questioned jeeringly.

Mina turned to him, her green eyes ablaze and her jaw set. "I don't know, Mr. Skinner." She pulled down her collar slightly to reveal to imprints in her neck. "Is the vampiric sucking of people's blood radical behavior?" Skinner didn't answer.

"Aah," Nemo suddenly said as he approached the edge of the dock. "Our transportation is forthcoming."

"A boat?" Sawyer questioned. Something told Adeline whatever was taking them to Paris wasn't that simple.

They all joined Nemo at the dock's edge to see water bubbling. "It travels on water, if that's what you mean," Nemo told them. Suddenly, probably the most massive ship Adeline had ever seen rose from the oceans depths. It looked to be completely metal but somehow manipulated the laws of science to be so large and yet travel on water. "And beneath it," Nemo added as he turned to see their awed expressions.

"Whoa," both Sawyer and Adeline breathed.

Nemo smiled proudly, "Behold, Nautilus, the Sword of the Ocean. Next stop, Paris." The seven of them boarded the ship quickly, wanting to see what the inside looked like.

"Nemo," Adeline called to the captain. "At some point during our voyage, I would very much like to see how this ship works."

He gave her a small but wary smile, "I'd be honored. Come, Ishmael will show you to your rooms."


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N WElcome back to another chapter! Sadly I do not own The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Enjoy!**_

The first mate led all of them to their rooms and assured them that all of their effects had been brought up. He also informed them that dinner would be served in the dining hall on the next deck.

Adeline breathed a small sigh and set to work unpacking her bags to help the bland but grand room feel more comfortable. She even set up all her tools on the nearby desk to tinker with in her spare time, if she had any. Despite the rooms placidness it amazed her that a seemingly ordinary city-like room was actually currently charging across the channel to Paris at God only knew what speed. She made a mental note to ask Nemo how he managed to have built-in plumbing in the wash room.

A few minutes later she attempted to find her way up to the dining hall but somehow managed to get lost amongst the sea of hallways. She turned a corner abruptly and ran into someone. Adeline stumbled but luckily the person caught her. She looked up and met a pair of deep brown eyes. Sawyer. "Oops, sorry, wasn't looking where I was going," Sawyer apologized steadying her.

Adeline felt her face heat up slightly, "Um, no, it was my fault."

Sawyer gave her a smile, "You as lost as I am?"

"How'd you guess?" Adeline replied with her own smile.

"Well, you know what they say, two heads are better than one. Maybe we can find the dining hall together." Adeline nodded and the two set off and eventually did find the dining hall and were the last to arrive.

"Ah, Mr. Sawyer, Miss Fogg, we were beginning to wonder where you two had gotten off to," Gray said as the two sat down.

"Sorry, got a little lost," Sawyer explained as some of Nemo's men brought them their food.

"So, what is the plan for our hunt in Paris?" Quartermain inquired.

Adeline took a sip of her water, "Well, that depends do you intend to corner or capture him?"

Mina gave her a look, "Is there a difference?"

The younger girl nodded, "Slight. It all depends on how ferocious or unwilling our recruit will be."

"Chap's said to be quite vicious, so I've heard," Skinner supplied.

A small smirk crossed Quartermain's face, "Then we'll set a trap."

Adeline thought about it for a moment, "If you and Sawyer could steer him in a certain direction, we could lay out a simple, weight pressurized net that would catch him and pull him into the cargo hold."

"From there my men can hold him whilst we attempt to reason with him," Nemo added swallowing a bite of his dinner.

"Very well, Nemo, Adeline, the construction of the trap will be up to you and Sawyer and I will be the bait," Quartermain announced.

The following evening Nemo and Adeline, as well as a number of Nemo's men waited inside the cargo hold for the trap to be sprung. Nemo and Adeline had calculated that if anything over eighty kilograms, or a hundred and seventy-five pounds, as they had to translate for Sawyer, stepped or landed on the woven net it would recoil and pull their recruit into the cargo hold. Shots were heard in the distance as well as the muffled voices of Quartermain and Sawyer. Suddenly, a very large, ape-looking man fell into the trap and was pulled aboard the Nautilus.

However, their new recruit did not take kindly to being captured and fought off Nemo's men as they chained him to the steel walls of the cargo hold. Still, apparently the man was incredibly strong and managed to break a few chains but more were added. Sawyer and Quartermain entered the room soon followed by Mina, Gray, and Skinner. "Stay back, if you value your life," Quartermain warned the new occupants.

Nemo's men pointed spears at their recruit but he just swung at them and made them fly into the walls. Adeline heard Skinner get knocked to the ground by one of the chains and looked back to see Gray help him up. Just as she was turning back she felt someone pull her down and narrowly avoid one of the chains. "Thanks," she told Sawyer as they straightened.

He shrugged, "Anytime."

"Well, this is nice," Gray observed sarcastically.

"Mr. Hyde," Quartermain shouted causing the giant man to pause, "You've done terrible things in England. So terrible that you fled the country." The man, Mr. Hyde, growled as he began to pace. "And I'm ashamed to say that Her Majesty's government is willing to offer you amnesty in return for your services. Do you want to go home?"

Hyde gave Quartermain a withering look, "Home. Home is where the heart is, that's what they say. And I have been missing London so. Its sorrow is as sweet to me as a rare wine. I'm yours." Adeline relaxed just a bit but Sawyer remained stiff at her side. Hyde noticed that most of them were still tense, "Don't be afraid."

"Who says I'm afraid?" Sawyer replied cockily.

"You do!" Hyde howled, breaking one of the chains off the wall nearly hitting all of the league members had they not ducked out of the way. "You stink of fear!" Adeline smirked slightly at Sawyer and he rolled his eyes at her.

"Quite the parlor trick," Gray announced in his usual demeaning tone.

Hyde glared at him, "You wait till you see my next one." Hyde suddenly groaned in pain and began convulsing. His body began to morph and shrink. Within seconds he'd transformed into a much thinner man that was gasping for breath.

"Well there's something you don't see every day," Adeline muttered in astonishment.

The man grasped as his pants to keep them from falling as the chains fell off of him, "Dr. Jekyll at your service."

"So, the league is set," Quartermain announced.

A bell suddenly dinged and Nemo went to retrieve a strip of paper, "So is the date of the conference. We have three days."

"Three days," Sawyer restated doubtfully. "Can this canoe do that?"

Nemo turned to Sawyer, "You underestimate the Nautilus, sir. You underestimate her greatly."

After Dr. Jekyll was settled into his quarters the other league members went to sleep in preparation of their quest in Venice. The following morning over breakfast, Nemo told Ishmael to give Adeline a tour of the ship, to which the young girl accepted excitedly. The tour was absolutely fascinating and Ishmael was good company.

As the afternoon turned to sunset the league members gathered above deck to relish the last few hours above sea before they would be diving. Adeline leaned against the railing near Quartermain and Sawyer reading a book as Quartermain cleaned his gun and Sawyer stared at Mina as she stood at the opposite end of the deck.

Quartermain noticed Sawyer's stare, "She's out of your league. You may want to focus your attentions on someone a bit younger." Adeline felt her cheeks grow warm but feigned an inability to hear them.

"Fortune rewards the bold," Sawyer insisted as he approached Mina.

"But not so the idiotic," Adeline muttered. Quartermain chuckled at her comment as they both glanced over at Sawyer's attempt to flirt.

"If you require any help during the voyage Mrs. Harker, just let me know," Sawyer told the woman.

Mina gave him a curious, but withering look, "I'm curious as to how you think you'll assist me, Agent Sawyer."

"Heavy lifting," Sawyer replied opening the ship door. "Light banter. I'm a useful kind of guy."

"You're sweet, and you're young. Neither are traits I hold in high regard," Mina stated as she brushed passed him inside. Gray walked over and patted Sawyer on the shoulder with a false look of pity.

"The solar panels are fully charged. We'll be diving in a moment," Nemo announced as all of them were ushered back inside.

Later that evening before dinner, Nemo, Sawyer, Quartermain, and Adeline met to discuss the plans for when they reached Venice. "The plans the Fantom stole," Nemo said holding up a leather-bound book, "These are copies. Da Vinci's blueprints of Venice, its foundations and waterways." Nemo flipped through the pages as Adeline studied the schematics.

"The foundations of the city are set upon columns built under the water, with enough pressure they would give way," Adeline announced. "If placed below the conference…"

"So he'll attack the conference by sea," Sawyer summed up.

Nemo patted his beard, "We'll have to sail as far in the city as possible and my divers can locate the explosives."

Quartermain nodded, "The rest of us will scour the city for the Fantom. With any luck, we'll be able to apprehend him and keep the conference from sinking."

The four nodded and set off back to their rooms. Sawyer and Adeline fell in step together as their rooms were near each other. "So Adeline, how old are you?"

She gave him a look, "That's an odd question to ask? Are all Americans this forward?"

The blonde gave her a small smirk, "Some of them maybe, but where I come from if you want something, you do what you can to get it."

"Hmm, America sounds like an interesting place. And I'm twenty," Adeline replied.

"I'm twenty three, just so we're even," Sawyer returned causing Adeline to giggle a bit.

"So why did you join the Secret Service?" Adeline questioned.

"Oh, so we're getting into the more personal questions now?" Both of them grinned. "I like a little adventure, a little excitement. Why did you join the League?"

The dark haired girl shrugged, "I've always wanted adventure and I guess, I wanted to get out of my uncle's shadow. You know, after traveling all around the world and becoming the Minister of Science, I wanted to do something to set myself a part." Adeline stopped rambling, wondering why she was telling him this, she barely knew him.

Sawyer nodded, "So, you got a man back home?"

Adeline laughed, "No, all the boys back in England think and talk about is money. They don't care about the world and all that it has to offer. And I think it's fair to assume you don't have a girl in America either after your flirting with Mina earlier."

The blonde chuckled and rubbed the back of his next as he turned slightly pink, "Yeah, that was embarrassing."

"Look, Sawyer, the thing you need to know about women like Mina is they don't go for the handsome, young boys with a thirst for adventure. She is more attracted to the dangerous, older gentleman. Just be careful with her, alright?" Adeline advised him as they arrived at her room.

"Yeah, okay, thanks," Sawyer said looking a little sad.

"Well, I'll see you at dinner," Adeline said opening the door to her room. He gently kissed her hand and smirked before disappearing down the hall.

Adeline closed the door behind her softly, a grin spreading across her face. "So, Sawyer?" a familiar voice said startling her.

She whirled around to find no one in the room. "Skinner! What are you doing in my room? Get out!"

"Easy, Addie, just wanted to catch up with you," Skinner replied pulling his coat on. "Noticed you flirting with Sawyer and wanted to gab."

She rolled her eyes, "Put some trousers on for God's sake!"

"All right, keep your hair on!" Skinner rummaged around in her drawers. "Don't you have any trousers for men?"

"Of course not! The only trousers I own fit me, borrow a skirt or something then."

"Fine!" He pulled on a long black skirt and sat down in the chair by her desk. "Now tell me all about Sawyer!"

"Alright, A) I am not telling you anything, B) It is none of your business, and C) Me potentially fancying someone does not give you the right to corner me in my own room!" Adeline growled at the invisible man.

"So you do fancy him!" Skinner said slyly.

She grabbed a nearby book and threw it at him, "Shut it! You dare say a word to anyone I will castrate you and hide your invisible body parts in the Sahara!"

Skinner shrugged, got to his feet and walked out the door, "You can't deny it, Addie. It's written all over your face."

She rolled her eyes and shut the door. It was then that she noticed some sort of dust on the floor. She crouched down to pick some up and inspect it, she sniffed lightly to resolved that it was most likely magnesium phosphorus, due to its color and smell but she'd have to run other tests to be sure. She shook it off, chalking it up to something she hadn't noticed before and went to bed.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N Welcome to a new chapter! Thank you so much for all the reviews!**_

The next morning, after breakfast, Adeline decided to go up on deck since they had resurfaced for a few hours. Quartermain was already up there shooting some pulleys. He nodded to her as she leaned against the railing a few feet away and opened up her copy of Darwin's _Origin of the Species_. A few moments later she heard the sub door open and Sawyer joined them. She quickly turned back to her book, trying to conceal her blush.

"Did you want something?" Quartermain asked the young American, not taking his eye off of his target.

"No, I was just wondering why you signed up for all this," Sawyer replied honestly. Adeline's eyebrows furrowed, why did Sawyer want to know why she and Quartermain joined the League? Quartermain took his shot, hitting the buoy a good eight or nine hundred yards away. Adeline's eyebrows shot up in awe, that kind of precision was near impossible. Sawyer cupped his ear a bit at the sound. "Nemo told me you hate the British Empire."

"They called and I answered," Quartermain replied simply as he reloaded.

"Well, that ain't all of it, though, is it?" Sawyer questioned.

Quartermain avoided the question. "Salou!" Nemo's man shot out another buoy.

Sawyer sighed, "Sorry I asked." The young man came up to lean on the railing between her and Quartermain. The older man relaxed his aim and turned toward the younger two. Adeline closed her book and watch intently.

"Three years ago, the British approached me with a mission for Queen and Country," Quartermain began.

"Sounds like the morning ride to work for you, I'd imagine," Adeline observed with a small smile.

"I signed on, without hesitation," he continued. "I even took my son along. I led, my son followed…He died in my arms." Adeline and Sawyer froze at this information. "After that I washed my hands of England and the Empire, and the legend of Allen bloody Quartermain." Sawyer and Adeline shared a sad look. Quartermain picked up the gun and gave Sawyer a quizzical look. "Now, would you like to learn how to shoot?"

"I can already," Sawyer insisted.

"Oh, I saw, very American, fire enough bullets and hope to hit the target," Quartermain replied. Adeline smirked. "Sawyer, I'm talking about pipping the ace at nine hundred yards." He held the gun out to the blonde. "Try." After a moment, Sawyer grabbed the gun. "Easy." Sawyer took his aim.

"Salou!" Adeline shouted as a buoy was launched into the sea.

"Alright, aim," Quartermain said.

"That's easy," Sawyer replied.

"Allow for wind."

"That's easy too."

"Well here the part that's not," Quartermain stated shortly. "You have to feel the shot, take your time with it. You have all the time you need. All the time in the world. Take your-"

BANG! Sawyer's shot came up just short of the buoy. "Ooh, close," Adeline chuckled softly.

Quartermain grabbed the gun, "Too soon, but that was bloody close. And at five hundred yards too." He gave Sawyer the gun once more. "Again."

"Salou!" Sawyer ordered and raised the gun to aim. "Did you teach your son to shoot like this?" Quartermain didn't answer and disappeared below deck. "Quartermain?" Sawyer called but was met with silence. He put the gun down and hung his head a bit.

Adeline smiled a bit, "I believe that is what the Americans call putting one's foot in their mouth?"

Sawyer gave her a look, "I seem to be doing that a lot."

She gently nudged his shoulder, "Don't beat yourself up too much over it. People in Europe aren't so forthcoming with their feelings or their past. We like to keep up a front, a different self we allow others to see."

"But why?" Sawyer asked.

"It keeps people from hurting us," she answered staring out over the vast sea.

Sawyer watched her for a moment, "Who hurt you?"

She smiled a bit, "You deserve more credit than you give yourself. His name was Charles, his father was a member of Parliament and we went to boarding school together. I thought he was charming but one night, coming home from the library, I saw him drinking with some of his friends. They were very rude and…they attacked me." She noticed a scowl cross Sawyer's features. "I escaped only because Lau Xing, my uncle's butler and oldest friend, taught me how to fight when I was young. The thing was I'd told him things about me, my uncle, even my parents that I had never told anyone. But it is human nature, I suppose, to want to trust others and be betrayed in the end."

"I'm sorry," Sawyer told her.

"Thanks, Sawyer, but it was a long time ago. The world's changing and I guess we have to change with it," she sighed.

"Tom," the blonde corrected.

The Brit looked up at him startled, "What?"

"Tom, that's my first name, you can call me that if you want."

"Alright but then you have to call me Addie, It's what my uncle calls me," she told him.

He smiled, "Isn't that what Skinner calls you?"

"Yeah, but no matter how many times I tell him to stop, he doesn't listen so I just let him. You, on the other hand, actually have permission." The two shared a smile.

Just then Nemo appeared, "You two best get inside, we are about to dive." The two obliged and returned below deck.

That afternoon Adeline decided to do some of her Tai Chi exercises. Lau Xing had taught many of the forms to her and it really helped calm her mind. She turned on her record player and the soft music played as she slowly went through the forms. A few minutes later she sensed a presence behind her and turned around to see Dr. Jekyll in the doorway.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I was just walking by and…I'll take my leave now," he muttered apologetically.

"No, it's alright, I don't mind. Tai Chi is very relaxing and calms your mind, it may be beneficial to your situation," the dark haired girl told him.

"I doubt it would help my situation, but thank you for the offer," Jekyll declined.

She gave him a look, "Just give it a try, doctor." Reluctantly Dr. Jekyll entered the room and stood next to her. "Now, follow me and do exactly as I do, the key is your breathing and allowing the energy in your body to flow. All your emotions, thoughts, and muscles at peace." Jekyll followed her as she flowed through each of the forms and she could see him slowly relaxing. "I'm afraid I have to go," she told him when they'd finished. "Nemo just got some information and he wants my opinion on something."

Jekyll nodded, "Yes, of course. Thank you very much."

"Do you feel better?"

"Surprisingly, yes."

"I suppose I'll see you at dinner then," she said as she left the room. When she arrived, Sawyer and Quartermain were already present and pouring over the blueprints. "Sorry I'm late."

Nemo looked up, "Not at all, I was just explaining that the Fantom has gotten his hands on more explosives and so it is clear that with Da Vinci's blueprints and the explosives, he could set a bomb that will blow Venice's foundations to rubble."

"He's gonna sink the whole city," Sawyer was getting angry.

Adeline crossed her arms, "This is much bigger than we had originally anticipated. It was bad enough he was going to attack the conference but sinking all of Venice is even more catastrophic."

"Yes," Quartermain agreed. "And spark his world war."

Dr. Jekyll suddenly appeared, "I'm afraid that's not the sum of our problems."

"Jekyll, what's happened? I just saw you not ten minutes ago," Adeline demanded.

"It's Skinner, he's taken a vile of my formula," Jekyll announced.

Quartermain stood up, "Are you sure?"

"Who else?" Jekyll demanded. "You've seen the way the sneaky bugger operates."

Just then one of Nemo's men ran in, "Captain, we're approaching Venice."

Nemo nodded, "We shall continue this conversation after we save the city."

All of the League members met in the control room. Adeline had gone back to her room to grab her coat and other assorted weapons on her person before joining them. Nemo pulled down the periscope as they slowly entered Venice through its waterways. The captain gasped, "It is a carnival, by God, we must locate that bomb." He shoved the periscope up as the Nautilus sailed deeper into the city but the archways were getting lower and lower.

"We can go no further, captain," Ishmael told Nemo.

"All ahead stop," Nemo ordered and the ship slowly came to a halt.

"Let's go," Quartermain instructed. Within minutes nearly everyone disembarked the ship. Divers, in specialized suits, which Adeline requested to examine later, took to the waterways as Nemo barked orders at his men.

Mina looked up at the buildings, "This city is vast, he could be anywhere."

"What about Skinner?" Sawyer questioned noticing they were one short.

"I'd be alert for his treachery," Gray suggested.

Sudden loud explosions caused all of them to jump only to realize they were simply fireworks, hopefully they weren't too late. "Bloody carnival," Quartermain muttered.

"God, I'd feared the worst," Mina breathed.

"We still have time, let's get moving," Adeline suggested.

All of a sudden, the ground beneath them shook causing Adeline to fall into Sawyer. He steadied her as one of Nemo's men shouted from the ship's crow's-nest. "The buildings are falling like dominos!"

"We're too late," Mina gasped.

Quartermain surveyed the area, "There must be more than one bomb. Nemo! The bombs are in the city's center, we must take out one key building."

"Yes," Nemo agreed immediately. "Get ahead of the collapse and destroy the next building."

"We can't interrupt the chain of destruction," Sawyer argued.

"With a beacon placed at the exact coordinates I can launch a rocket and take out the building," Nemo continued.

Adeline noticed Sawyer ran off back onto the ship before turning back to the others, "If it's powerful enough the magnitude of that explosion should cancel out the path of the other but it will have to be incredibly precise."

"That's ridiculous, we'd never get there in time," Gray pointed out pessimistically.

"Gray's right!" Jekyll agreed sounding quite frantic.

Gray looked over to Quartermain, "I'm an immortal sir, not a gazelle. How can we outrun this?"

Gray's question was answered by the revving of an engine as Nemo's car zoomed out of the cargohold. "Care for a spin?" Sawyer asked from behind the wheel. Adeline smirked as she raced over and hoped, the others quickly following her.

"Come on, Jekyll, get in!" Quartermain shouted. Adeline looked back to see Jekyll frozen.

"I need coordinates," Nemo reminded them as he made his way back onto the ship.

"Can you track this thing?" Adeline questioned and Nemo nodded.

"Then the car will be your target," Quartermain announced holding up a flare gun. "Launch when you see the flare."

"Right!" Nemo agreed as he headed aboard.

Quartermain turned back to Jekyll, "Come on Jekyll, we'll need Hyde."

"No," he insisted. "Hyde will never use me again."

"Step on it," Adeline told Sawyer.

"Then what good are you?" Gray called to Jekyll as they raced off into the city.


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N New chapter, sorry it's been awhile but the last few weeks have been crazy.**_

Debris was falling everywhere and they only just barely avoided most of it. Quartermain took out one of Da Vinci's schematics in order to direct them through the winding streets. "Straight ahead and then turn left."

"No!" Mina disputed, "Take a right, after the canal port."

"We must turn left to get ahead of the-" he was suddenly cut off as a volley of bullets nearly hit them and Sawyer instinctually turned right. Adeline rolled her eyes a bit.

"Damn, Skinner! He must've told them we were coming!" Dorian yelled as he hopped out of the car. As they drove on down the street a whole slew of the Fantom's men appeared shooting at them. The four of them ducked their heads to avoid the bullets. Sawyer swerved to avoid the bullets but ended up running through several columns.

"Dorian!" Mina screamed causing Adeline to look back and see Dorian fighting his way through the Fantom's men.

"He's immortal, he'll be alright, Mina," Adeline assured her.

Another bout of gunfire rained down on them from the tops of the roofs. Quartermain picked up his gun and attempted to aim at the men but couldn't. "Can't get a clear shot."

"Then take the wheel!" Sawyer ordered as he let go and fired at the men on the roofs.

"Sit down, you buffoon, I don't know how to drive this bloody thing! Get down!" Quartermain growled causing Sawyer to resume driving.

"Save your bullets these men are mine," Mina snarled as she suddenly, and quite literally, flew out of the backseat onto the wall.

"Did you see that?" Adeline asked as they watched Mina crawl up the wall and bats came out of nowhere and followed in her wake. She turned to see Sawyer and Quartermain still watching Mina as she attacked the men on the roofs. "Keep your eyes on the bloody road, Tom!"

"Whoa!" the blonde shouted as they ran into a few more columns, breaking bridges, and other assorted debris. Still more men on the roofs fired at them.

"There's more of them!" Adeline pointed out.

Quartermain glanced behind them, "The vampire lady has us covered." Mina and her swarm charged at the minions on the roof and quickly dispatched of them. Moments later they lost sight of Mina as they continued to make their way toward the city's center.

Quartermain suddenly turned to her and Sawyer, "Remember the flare! I'm off."

"What?" Sawyer shouted confused.

"Don't forget, you're the target!" With that the legendary hunter hopped out of the car.

Adeline moved up to the front seat, "Guess it's just down to us."

Sawyer gave her a small smile, "Sure, put everything on the two youngest members of the League, sounds reasonable."

Adeline giggled before observing the buildings, "We're getting close." She picked up the flare gun and held it tight in her hand. A moment later they pulled ahead of the falling buildings, "Alright, we're in the lead. Now we need to find a good spot to launch the flare."

"There, the bridge," Sawyer suggested.

"That'll work."

Sawyer grabbed her free hand, "Hold on tight."

"See you on the other side."

A moment later they were airborne and Adeline shot up the flare before they crashed back onto the ground and through the nearest building.

Adeline wasn't sure but she could've sworn she blacked out for a moment. When she opened her eyes she realized she was in a lot of pain and could barely move. She turned her head a bit to look at Sawyer, who lied right next to her as the car pinned them down. He met her gaze and nodded as he moved out from under the car. "Come on, Addie, we've got to go before the rocket hits."

"I can't," she panted. "I can't move. Go, get out of here before you get blasted to pieces."

The American shook his head, "Not without you!" He ran around to her side of the car and dragged her out from underneath. He swooped her up into her arms and ran out of the building. Seconds later the building exploded and Sawyer was knocked off his feet.

Adeline groaned, "You okay?"

He got to his feet and picked her up again, "I'll live, let's go."

They managed to find their way back to the Nautilus. "Sawyer and Adeline?" they heard Quartermain question as they appeared.

"They'll live to fight another day," Sawyer announced causing everyone to turn to them.

Jekyll ran up to them, "Is she alright?"

"She can hear you," Adeline muttered earning small smiles from the both of them.

"We crashed and she's having a hard time moving," Sawyer explained.

"Give her to me, I'll take a look at her, perhaps there is something I can do," Jekyll requested.

Sawyer hesitated but Adeline nodded so he passed her over to Jekyll. The doctor set her down near a few of Nemo's men on a makeshift blanket of sorts.

"Adeline, I need you to stay awake and tell me what hurts," Jekyll told her.

"My leg, the left. And my ribs," Adeline explained. "I think my left fibula is fractured and possibly two broken ribs but as far as I can tell no punctures."

Jekyll nodded and quickly examined both of her legs before doing the same with her stomach. "I believe your conclusions are correct, once we're back on board I shall wrap up your abdomen and your left leg. Once we bind the leg you should be alright to walk but do not overexert yourself."

Adeline nodded, "Yes, doctor."

"Captain," they suddenly heard Ishmael yell from behind them. Everyone quickly ran over to him, Sawyer picked Adeline up and took her over as well. Jekyll quickly caught Ishmael before he fell, he was dying. "It was Gray, not Skinner. Gray's tricked us all." Adeline covered her mouth as Ishmael died right there in front of them.

A loud metal sound echoed through the air, "What is it?" Sawyer demanded.

Nemo looked furious, "The sound of treachery." They all ran inside and down the halls until they came to nearly the end of the ship and stepped out to see a sort of pod, shaped like a jellyfish, drop into the water. The glass moved and they saw Gray piloting the pod.

"What is that thing?" Sawyer questioned.

Nemo stared at his creation, "My expiration pod."

Gray blew them a kiss before sailing away. "Can we track it?" Adeline asked from Sawyer's arms.

"I intend to catch it!" Nemo shouted before they all raced back inside. The followed Nemo into the drawing room, there he pointed at a moving map with two points as the ship pulled out of Venice. "That is us, that is the Nautiloid. We will be upon them soon."

Sawyer set Adeline on one of the chairs, "You okay?"

Adeline nodded, "Yeah, fine."

Jekyll quickly came over with a bandage and began to wrap up Adeline's abdomen. "This should help, I'll get a splint for your leg here in a m-" he gasped in pain and grabbed his ears as a loud ringing noise echoed throughout the ship.

"Nemo?" Quartermain questioned.

The captain shook his head, "It is nothing of mine."

One of Nemo's men ran in holding some sort of parcel, "Captain, the noise came from this."

"A recording disk?" Nemo wondered as he pulled a record out of the parcel and placed it on the record player. Jekyll finished wrapping Adeline's injured ribs as Nemo put the needle on the record.

"Ready Professor?" a female voice sounded. "Recording."

"Gentlemen," the voice of M followed. "If you're hearing this, the every step leading up to it has gone as planned."

"And I've intruded the goals set to me," Gray's voice added. "Yes, it's me, Dorian. As you know by now I'm no loyal summon of the empire. As a matter of fact, my loyalty to Mr. M comes in no small part from his possession of something I hold very dear to my heart. Something I would do anything to regain."

"Are you all right?" Mina asked Jekyll causing the others to glance their direction.

"My ears hurt, it's nothing," Jekyll insisted, but there was something in his expression that made Adeline think otherwise.

"Everything so far has been misdirection," M continued. "Sanderson Reed, the assassins in Kenya, the recruitment admission, the secret conference, a myth. Even the League itself…there is no League, there never was. It was a ruse to get me closer to my goal."

"Likes the sound of his own voice, doesn't he?" Sawyer commented snidely causing Adeline to smirk.

"See I want you, each of you, even tired old Quartermain, because he'll capture Hyde where all others have failed," M admitted. "The question is why, why all this mask and mystery? Because in the weapon to come, I intend to wield the greatest weapon of all…the power of the League itself." Adeline's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "To that end I set my wolf upon your sheep."

"Growl," Gray mocked.

"To gain your trust and lead you astray," M explained.

"And all the while I collect you, the parts of you I need. Nemo and Adeline's science-" Gray maintained.

"Magnesium Phosphorus," Mina gasped. Adeline's mind was reeling, the powder she'd found in her room, it was from a camera.

"Skinner's skin sample, Jekyll's potion, and Mina's blood," the devil listed off as they all glanced around at each other.

"If you fail to save Venice, then I get my war," M announced. "If you succeed, well it's a small price to pay for a great task. War will come, sooner or later. It is inevitable. Now all of you, will pause to ask why I'm letting you know all this, what fool reveals his strategy before the game is over. It is over, for you. Because my voice isn't the only sound being made. While I've rambled on, a secondary layer of inaudible sound, higher than humans can hear, audible to dogs, has been heard by crystal sensors about your vessel."

"Sense detect the bomb," Gray declared. "Bomb voyage."

Nemo threw the record player on the floor, effectively breaking it but it was too late.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


	7. Chapter 7

Three consecutive blasts ruptured the ship causing everyone to fly everywhere. Adeline's chair tipped over causing her to hit her head. Despite the new sensation of dizziness she focused on following everyone up to the control room where Nemo was taking the wheel. It took her a bit more time to get there than the others but with a combination of crawling and hobbling on the now slanted floor, she managed to make it and grab hold of something to keep herself from falling back.

"We're taking in too much water!" Nemo shouted, "The controls are not responding."

"Primary engine room is almost full, the bulkhead is open, valves are jammed," one of Nemo's men informed him.

"Seal it off!" he ordered.

"But there are men in there, Captain!" the man argued.

"For the greater good we must seal it!" Nemo insisted.

Water began to pour in causing the floor to be even slipperier and some of Nemo's men were taken out of the control room. "What are you talking about?" Adeline heard Jekyll yell over the commotion.

She turned her head to look at him and he was staring at his reflection, probably talking to Hyde. "Jekyll," she cried causing the doctor to look over at her. "Give him a chance, he couldn't possibly make anything worse." He gave her a small straight lipped smile before disappearing out of the room.

"Where's Dr. Jekyll?" Mina asked a few minutes later.

Before Adeline could answer her question the ship began to push forward rather than be pulled down and within moments, they resurfaced. Adeline grinned, "He was saving us all."

"Well, we best get this ship cleaned up," Quartermain suggested as they made their way back into the drawing room.

Sawyer swooped up Adeline on his way earning a small surprised yelp from her. He smirked and she smiled at him before he set her down one of the chairs the others had set properly. He then walked off to help right the room with the others.

After a bit, Jekyll returned receiving appraising looks from the other member of the League and even a thumbs up from Quartermain. "Let's not make a saint out of a sinner, next time he may not be so helpful," Jekyll advised, obviously uncomfortable with praise. He noticed one of Nemo's men attempting to repair the map. "Can we still follow Gray?"

"Well we were the faster, now we're the tortoise to his hare," Quartermain explained as he and Jekyll righted another chair.

Jekyll nodded, "So we're done?"

"No," Sawyer disagreed from across the room. "We're alive, and if M has any ideas to the contrary, that gives us an edge."

"Now we have the element of surprise," Adeline agreed from her chair.

"Captain!" one of Nemo's men suddenly barged in. "We're getting a signal." Everyone began rushing out of the room.

"Tom!" Adeline called causing him to turn around with a smirk and retrieve her from the chair.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you enjoyed me carrying you around," Sawyer said.

Adeline tried to hide her blush, "In your dreams, Sawyer."

The American just shook his head as they joined the others in a room off to the side of the control room where Nemo's man was listening intently to the telegraph.

"It's morse code," Quartermain observed.

"What's it say?" Mina asked.

"Hello, my freaky darlings," the man answered.

Adeline's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Skinner?"

"Uh, hiding on board little fish with Gray and M," the man continued. "On way to base, East by Northeast, follow my lead."

Nemo turned to another crewman, "Get the tracking system up and running so we might follow Mr. Skinner and the Nautiloid." The man nodded and they all followed Nemo back into the control room. "Until we can repair the ship, we won't be able to catch up to the Nautiloid. Not to mention many of my crew will be injured."

"I'm sure we can all pitch in to help. Jekyll and Mina can take care of the injured and I can help with repairs down in the engines once Jekyll binds my leg, plus Quartermain and Sawyer can help wherever they are needed," Adeline suggested.

Quartermain nodded, "Sounds good, let's get to work."

Jekyll escorted Adeline down to the medbay and splinted her calf to allow the bone time to heal. "Now, since it wasn't a clean break it should mend a bit faster but you cannot overexert yourself or it won't heal at all," Jekyll told her.

The young brunette nodded, "Got it. Now I best be getting to work. And so should you." They shared a smile and left the medbay going in opposite directions.

It took Adeline a little longer than it should have to find the engine room but eventually she was able to locate it. She found the chief engineer and after a bit of arguing over her abilities, given her gender, he gave her a task to do and after seeing how well she was able to do said job, he gave her more tasks that required a bit more skill not all of Nemo's men possessed.

The young girl went to bed that evening exhausted. They were probably about halfway through repairs and her leg was throbbing dully. She ignored it and tried to sleep despite her racing thoughts of all the repairs she had yet to do.

The following morning she got up early, swiped just a bit of breakfast, and headed down to the engine room. She was surprised to see Sawyer talking to the chief engineer but ignored the heat in her cheeks and headed back to the pipes system she had been working on the previous evening. She was deep in concentration when she suddenly felt a tug on her hair. She whipped her head around to see Sawyer's retreating form and pursed her lips. If he wanted to play childish games, she could do the same.

Later, towards midday, she had finished repairing another energy conductor and was heading back to take a look at one of the electrical panels when she noticed Sawyer working with one of the crewmen to stabilize a network of pipes. She grinned mischievously and waited for the right moment and sharply poked him in the side as she passed. She heard his sharp intake and smirked as she continued on. This continued on throughout the day with the two of them bugging each other but it was all in good fun.

They were making quite a bit of progress and were nearly finished by the late afternoon, a lot of the new pipes just needed some adjustments. Adeline was struggling to reach a screw to tighten when she felt a presence behind her. She turned around to find Sawyer very close to her. He looked above her and used the wrench in his hand to tighten the screw for her. The Brit gave him a small smile, "Thank you."

He grinned down at her, "My pleasure." He took a step away and noticed that she was leaning heavily on her right leg. "You really should rest that leg."

She glanced down for a moment before meeting his brown eyes, "It's fine, Tom."

He gave her a disbelieving look, "You don't want to overdue it, Addie."

"I'm _fine,_ I can handle myself," she insisted perhaps a little too harshly. "Thank you though, for caring."

He nodded, "I best get back to work." She was about to turn back to her work when he stepped forward and kissed her forehead. "Just take it easy, okay? We're gonna need you when we catch up to M."

Adeline nodded numbly, "Alright." With that he walked away and Addie got back to work, trying to keep Sawyer and his incredibly soft lips off of her mind.

The ship was completed by the early evening and they all met in the control room to set the ship back on course. "Good work, all of you," Quartermain praised before turning to Nemo. "Captain."

Nemo nodded, "All ahead, full!"

The ship surged forward with ease and grace earning a few smiles from the League and the crew. The League gathered in the drawing room once more to pour over a map of their course.

"If Skinner's headings are correct," Nemo announced, "we will pass through the treacherous straits of Tartary and enter the Amur River which empties out into the frozen lakes of Mongolia, virtually inaccessible by outsiders. Nevertheless, we should be able to navigate the Nautilus close enough to the known settlements. I shall provide the cold weather clothing for all of you."

Quartermain nodded, "Very well, let the hunt begin."

They arrived in Mongolia within a few days and the top deck of the Nautilus burst through the ice allowing the League to walk upon it, now dressed in their white wool coats.

Quartermain lifted a pair of binoculars up to look out over the vast icy terrain. "Those settlements, all deserted."

"Fear, no doubt," Nemo suggested.

"Or forced," Adeline added.

"We had best continue on foot," Quartermain declared. The members of the League nodded and they packed up weapons, extra coats in case the temperature dropped, and plenty of food and water to keep them nourished. Then they and Nemo's men set out across the ice. The journey wasn't terrible, but it difficult with Addie's brace sinking into the snow. Eventually she had to brace herself against Sawyer to keep from getting stuck.

After a few hours they came upon a huge fortress with dozens of smokestacks billowing thick black smoke. "M's summer retreat," Sawyer observed sarcastically earning a grin from Adeline.

"This is where Skinner signaled he'd meet us," Quartermain reminded them. "So we wait."

"Mr. Q., there's a cave just down the way, we can take refuge there whilst we wait for Mr. Skinner," Mina proposed. Quartermain nodded and they all went into the surprisingly spacious cave. Sawyer and a few of the crew gathered firewood and built them all a nice cozy campfire.

Adeline sat by Sawyer as the blonde watched the fire. Quartermain had insisted on taking the first watch, and considering his hunting experience, no one questioned it. The wind picked up for a moment and echoed off the walls of the silent cave. A sudden shiver ran through Adeline causing Sawyer to glance up at her. He gave her a questioning look and she shrugged in response. The blonde then wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him to help warm her up.

"Tom…" she groaned. He just chuckled, she sighed and leaned her head on his chest.

A soft but audible sounded from the entrance of the cave. The League members shared a look and got up to make sure Quartermain was all right. "We heard a noise," Mina told the older man.

"It was nothing," Quartermain assured them.

Nemo scanned the horizon, "Just an old tiger sensing his end."

"Perhaps this was not his time to die after all," Quartermain theorized.

Adeline felt someone playing with her hair and assumed it was Sawyer but when she looked up his hands were in his coat pockets. Suddenly Mina gasped and jumped as a snow covered figure appeared. "I've been waiting all week to do that," the familiar voice of Skinner admitted.

"Get a grip, man," Quatermain growled as Adeline noticed Jekyll's expression harden.

Skinner shrugged, "Well, I thought I just did." Mina then slapped the invisible man. "Ooh, Mina."

"Report!" Nemo ordered.

"Well hello to you too. And need I remind you I am naked in the snow. I can't feel any of my extremities, and I mean any of them," Skinner announced.

Adeline rolled her eyes, "A bit too much information, Skinner. Come on inside, we've got some extra clothes you can wear."

After they got Skinner some clothes they sat down around the fire to here Skinner's tale. "With all the suspicion on the ship, I knew you wouldn't believe I wasn't the spy, well I thought it was best to disappear."

"So what are we dealing with?" Quartermain questioned.

"The fortress is vast, the furnaces produce iron for making M's weapons of destruction. They're pieced together on the factory floor by an army of ruthless men who share in his vision. But the worse was to come. In the dry dock, M's best minds, pervert Nemo's dream."

The Captain looked astonished, "The Nautilus?"

"Nautili," Skinner corrected, "there's eight for now. They've even made some progress on some Addie's mechanical designs."

"What about the kidnapped scientists?" Adeline requested.

"M holds their families hostage, the men work or the women and children die," Skinner explained.

"Monstrous," Nemo growled.

Adeline felt sick to her stomach. "Well that isn't the half of it," Skinner continued. "The scientists are forced to work night and day to make new versions of us. Invisible spies, an army of Hyde's, vampiric assassins, M leaves for Europe today with a sample case of the chemicals to sell to the most eager nation."

"I'll not let my evil infect the world," Jekyll declared.

"Do you think any of us feel differently?" Mina questioned lowly.

"Chimney pipes lace the buildings, a bomb in the furnaces would make quite a bang. But someone needs to blow that place to hell, and I am least likely to be scene," Skinner practically offered.

Quartermain gave the invisible man a hard look, "Skinner, I didn't know that you were such a bare faced liar, all that time pretending you weren't a hero?"

Skinner smirked, "Oh shut up or I'll come to my senses. And besides anymore like me and I'll lose the franchise." Adeline smiled a bit before Sawyer stood up, cocking his gun.

"No," Quartermain told the American, "this cannot be a hunt to the death, more's the pity. We must take M alive if he's secrets are to be uncovered."

"Not Gray," Mina insisted harshly, "he's lived long enough." Adeline didn't doubt the vampire.

"Oh I'll handle him," Sawyer announced.

Mina shot him down, "No."

Quartermain turned to the League now that Skinner and Mina's tasks had obviously been doled out. "Nemo, you and Hyde will free the prisoners. Sawyer and I will deal with M. Adeline, since you are injured, I want you to get up to the factory floor, disrupt the engines creating the weapons and ransack the files for proof of M's secrets." All three nodded in understanding.

Sawyer turned to Skinner, "Skinner, once you're done placing the bombs, get Addie out." The invisible man nodded in return with a small smirk as Adeline stared confused at Sawyer.

Quartermain sighed lightly, "All right then, let's get ready. The game is on."


End file.
